The UK Memory Of The World Register is an online catalogue that was launched in the House of Lords last year.

The brainchild of UNESCO, the register is aimed at raising worldwide awareness of the importance of historic archives.

Among the first ten items to be lodged was the oldest document in the City of London archive, a charter given to the City by William the Conqueror in 1067.

Now, films made in Bradford at the turn of the 20th century have been added. The silent films were among 800 black and white documentaries found in the basement of an old shop nine years ago.

Since their restoration by the British Film Institute, the Mitchell and Kenyon films, named after the Lancashire film company that made them, have been shown on BBC2 as The Lost World Of Mitchell And Kenyon and become world-famous.

Since Bradford is the world’s first Unesco City of Film, representation on the register is doubly appropriate.

Dr Vanessa Toulmin, of Sheffield University, played a big part in promoting the restored films. Nine years ago, she showed several Bradford City supporters the film of Bradford City’s first home game at Valley Parade, shot on September 3, 1903.

Dave Pendleton, former editor of the City Gent fanzine, was one of them. He helped to arrange the first public screening of the film at the National Media Museum eight years ago, to mark the centenary of Bradford City FC.

He said at the time: “I can’t get across how good the quality of the film is. It’s like someone has pulled back the curtain of history and we have had a look around it.”

Dr Toulmin said: “All of the 35 Bradford films have been restored. I have shown them at least three times at the National Media Museum. I have done 150 screenings all over the world and the film of the tram going up Manningham Lane is always one of the most popular.

“The Bradford films were commissioned by Sydney Carter, who ran New Century Pictures in Bradford, one of the country’s earliest film distribution companies.

“The BFI spent £4m on restoring the 800 films. Seven years of my life have been spent on the restoration. It cannot be anything other than an utter privilege to work on material that captures the public imagination. About 90 of the films can be seen on the BFI channel on YouTube.”

Sydney Carter (1867-1940) was an important figure in Bradford’s association with film-making. In 1900, he succeeded his father, Bennett Carter, as manager of St George’s Hall, already a venue for early film shows.

According to the book Movie Makers And Picture Palaces, by the late Geoff Mellor, film pioneer Cecil Hepworth got to know Carter when he visited Bradford in 1901, bringing films made by Mitchell and Kenyon.

Hepworth visited again in 1902. This time he produced several films made in Bradford, including Manningham Lane Tram Rides, and a 300-ft documentary called Shipley Glen.

To capitalise on the growing popularity of moving pictures, on March 27, 1902, Sydney Carter joined forces with Francis Sunderland to form New Century Pictures.

Bill Lawrence, former head of film at what is now the National Media Museum, said the Bradford films offered a great perspective of the city.

“They show the city how it was. It would be good to get copies lodged in Bradford that could be seen on a regular basis,” he added.